May Break My Bones
by Lilac Rain
Summary: Sakura moved to Konoha when she was ten. By accident, she discovers a worn building, whom a boy named Kimimaro is trapped in. Her visits may just break his delicate bones...or his heart rather...
1. A Meeting

My mouth must've been open, long enough for a wandering fly to zoom in, and make himself cozy. Why? For some reason, a had a craving to read a Kimmimaro and Sakura story. So, when I looked it up, I probably had to pinch myself multiple times to prove my eyes were telling the truth.

Nine. Only nine fics about those two! Can you believe that?! I can't, so that is why I want to make another fiction and prove that this deserves more than it's given credit for.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto series/manga. But I'll tell you, I will one day! Just you wait. I'll just stalk Kishimoto-san until I figure out his address and hold him hostage. No violence intended. :D

Thing you need to know:

Sakura is the same age as Kimimaro.  
Yes, I will change their ages then.

-x-x-x-

"I don't like meeting new people. They might say my forehead is big." Sakura crossed her arms, sad, but annoyed, that her parents would force, and drag her, to a gathering were all the villagers came, from their new home: Konohagakure. Luckily, they moved here the day this gathering was held. Mostly, it was for adults to reminisce with one another. Few brought children along though.

"Aw come on, who knows, you might meet a new friend!" Her dad playfully pushed her on ahead, as they approached the huge gathering, located in a fairly large field, ment for a training zone. Sakura tripped over her pink, beautiful kimono, but caught herself before falling upon the rough dirt ground. She scowled silently at her clumsy Dad.

"Alright, now Sakura, you can roam among this area, but don't go too far." Sakura's Mom patted her head gently as she walked with her husband, on into the growing crowd of adults. Sakura, now angry, pouted.

"Please Mom, I'm ten. I can do stuff on my own!" Sakura stood tall and pretended to have pride in her steps towards the food area. When close enough, she swiped a sprinkle-covered cupcake and took a huge chunk out of it. Sakura peeked around, but obviously no one would bother to look. Who _would_ be surprised by a young girl chewing on a cupcake like she was Godzilla?

Sakura finished the cupcake normally and carelessly shook the crumbs off her chest, letting them fall towards the ground.

"Oh...what's the point? No one's going to notice me, no one ever does." Sakura sighed, staring at all the adults who were laughing and having a great time. Sakura was just about to walk over to her parents, when something touched her foot.

"Huh?" She looked down and saw a little rabbit, aimlessly munching away on the few crumbs that Sakura had left. Sakura instantly brightened up and tried to hug the bunny, who was now hopping away in terror.

"Hey! Bunny! Wait!" Sakura ran after the horrified rabbit, speeding up its pace each second. Sakura dodged the tree branches and bushes that interfered in the path of her and her favorite animal.

"Bunny, wait! You're going to fast!" She continued to follow it, leading her farther and farther away into the unknown, of a forest.

After a few minutes into the endless chase, Sakura was starting to grow weary. She was just about to halt to a stop, when she didn't feel ground underneath her feet anymore. Sakura, now the one terrified, dared to look down.

Apparently, she hadn't been watching where she was wandering to, and ended up falling off the edge of a cliff. A small one, but just high enough to be able to seriously injure you.

"What the?! Mom, Dad!!" Sakura screamed with all her might as she approached the ground at a chilling pace.

**BAM**

-x-x-x-

"Uhn..." Sakura slowly blinked her eyes open, though soon squinting at the afternoon light. She lifted her head slightly, in an attempt to see where she was now located. Her vision was blurred, and kept on changing. Reluctantly, Sakura sat up and rubbed her eyes carefully.

_'Good, nothing's broken.' _Sakura brushed her hair away from her face, and in the mean time, fixed it. Reality, then did hit her.

She was at the bottom of a treacherous cliff, in the center of a forest, away from all civilization, surrounded by the unknown. This was her first day in the village, she knew nothing about it, nor what enemies it collected.

"Oh no." Was all she could manage to choke out at this particular moment. Trying to remain calm, and search for the nearest human, Sakura got up from the dirt ground, and looked in all directions.

"Oh, there...no one's here. This is not good, this is not-" Finally, her eyes came across on an unstable, worn, little building, just a few yards ahead of her. Her instincts warned her not to even be near there, but her mind was telling her otherwise.

"Maybe someone in there could help me..." Sakura kept quiet as she ran towards the ominous building.

When she stood in front of the door, she knocked delicately upon an eerie steel door, expecting it to be impossible to open on her own. Well, she was shocked when it opened with a creak, leading to almost complete darkness. Sakura gulped.

"H-hello? Is anyone in here? I need some help." Sakura took a couple steps in, as her emerald eyes adjusted to the darkness, allowing her to see better.

"Please speak up if anyone is in here." Sakura clenched her fists tighter, as she went a little bit farther in the building.

Suddenly, there was a pounding noise, that echoed just a little. Sakura instinctively turned her head towards the sound. She gulped once more.

"Please, just t-tell me your t-th-here..." Sakura spoke again to nothing, hoping to hear the comforting sound of another voice. Surprising her again, wax candles, one by one lit themselves automatically, letting Sakura see that this was no normal run-down buliding.

"It's..a jail?" Sakura took note of all the rusted bars that stood still. Then, Sakura spotted a figure, curled up in a corner in one of the cells. Sakura cautiously approached the creepy cell door. When she was right in front of it, her line of sight went straight for the figure, now identified as a human.

"Um, hello..." Sakura's voice had obvious hints of nervousness and fear in it. The figure raised its head, allowing Sakura to identify it more clearly.

He had emerald green eyes like her own, except he had long white hair, tied in the back, and two red dots upon his forehead. He was hugging his knees to his chest, and appeared to be her age as well.

"Oh..h-hi." Sakura dared to stir up conversation with him, as he gazed at her, perplexed.

"Who are you?" His voice had shyness, but confidence. It seemed to be rather gentle too. Sakura widened her eyes, not actually expecting an answer.

"My name is Sakura. Haruno Sakura." She had to stop herself from lending out a hand for him to shake. Who knows what this boy has done? He returned his gaze to the ground.

"Cherry blossom. That's a pretty name." Sakura widened her eyes even more. It totally confused her why a boy her age, whom is locked in a cell, would ever be nice to anyone. Yet, Sakura felt relaxed, and managed a small smile, despite her situation.

"Thank you." His head raised once again, to continue his perplexed gaze towards her.

_'She...she's talking to me? No one ever did before...' _His expression went relaxed also, as he replied.

"My name's Kimimaro." Sakura nodded at his response.

"Kimimaro, I'll never forget that name." Kimimaro's face lightened up a bit.

"R-really? You would do that?" Sakura looked at him strangely.

"Why wouldn't I?" Sakura smiled her smile, and it seemed to gleam in the light that was barely there. Kimimaro smiled back, but almost a smile that no one would be able to see, unless you looked really close. Kimimaro had never been treated so nice before, it was kinda scary.

But all these good things have to end some time.

"Sakura! Sakura, are you here?" Sakura's face brightened up as she recognized the voice of her Mother and Father. They had found her!

"Oh, that's my parents! I got to go Kimimaro!" Sakura waved quickly and raced out the door. Kimmimaro's face grew depressed again. Alone, yet again. He was not new to this, but it still hurt a lot inside. She left so sudden, it was a bit rude.

Luckily, Sakura left the door open, to let the sunlight in, then his skin wouldn't go pale. He buried his head into his arms again, awaiting nothing.

But, the almost invisible smile appeared. His mind drifted back to the conversation he had with her, moments ago;

"_Kimimaro, I'll never forget that name."_

"Don't forget about me Sakura...you won't...will you?"


	2. Midnight Snack

Oh my! Three reviews, that still makes me happy! Heh, lets me know I'm not the only fan out there. Thank you, I wish I could give you the cookies I just made. (Not really)

**I don't own Naruto series/manga.**Trust me, if I did, Sasuke would've given a flower to Naruto when he was little and they would be the greatest of all pairings. **-sheds a tear-**

Anywho, review. It's the least you can to for us authors!

* * *

_Kimimaro had waited patiently, locked up in his cell. Drawing with his finger, a somewhat good picture in the dirt of Sakura. He did this every day, awaiting her return..._

For two years.

-x-x-x-

Sakura gazed out her window, elbows upon the window sill, her hand cupping her chin. She would do this every night, thinking. Or to give more hints, thinking of _him_. Sakura was forbidden to ever go back there though. Her parents wouldn't let that mishap happen again. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"Why don't they trust me? I'm old enough now." Sakura stood from her position and walked over to her mirror. Sakura placed her hands on her hips in thought. Had she really matured or not? A voice interrupted.

"Sakura! Isn't about time for you to be going to sleep?!" Her mother's voice was toned down, from the distance of the upstairs and the downstairs.

"Why do they always force me to go to sleep? It's not like I'm gonna sneak out or-..." Sakura smacked her forehead. She was an idiot for not thinking of that sooner. Hurrying to her window, she slipped on some shoes, and tried to slide open the window, but arousing little squeaks instead.

"Sakura? Are you going to bed?"

"Yeah, just closing the window." Sakura yelled back. Of course, that was a lie, but it didn't feel right to lie to her parents. Sakura quietly climbed out of her window, feet first, and dropped to the ground. Luckily, her father taught her that...just in case.

"I hope he's sill there..." Sakura whispered to herself, sprinting towards the area, ignoring the punishment she'd have to go through. She didn't care right now about anything. But, she wondered why she was so drawn to him.

-x-x-x-

"Why can't I ever get the eyes right?" Kimimaro lectured himself and blew the dirt once again, and attempted to draw another portrait of her. If only he saw her emerald eyes again, he could finally get it right.

Kimimaro had had dreams about her, walking into his "home" and talking to him. He kept picturing her smile, and it relaxed the tension his cell gave him. Sadly, she hadn't come back yet. Kimimaro sighed as his thoughts messed up the picture in the dirt. He blew it away, but it got revenge and blew into his right eye.

"Ow!" Kimimaro shouted, rubbing at his eye with his sleeve, currently wet from being dripped on from the cracked ceiling, letting in droplets of water. Failing to comfort his eye, he returned his gaze to the ground.

"Are you trying to tell me something? It has been two years, she wouldn't come back..." Kimimaro's face grew sad, but only temporary when his ears let him hear something he wouldn't think he would hear.

"Hello? Kimimaro?" Kimimaro instantly filled up with glee when he saw Sakura appear, as the candles lit up, automatically when someone entered.

"Sa...Sakura!" Kimimaro shouted, arousing Sakura's attention. Sakura lit up too, and approached Kimimaro's cell, like she did that one day.

"You..you came back." Kimimaro whispered, as Sakura sat down upon her legs and smiled, the smile he had longed to marvel at again.

"I wanted to see you again. After all, you were the first person I ever really talked to." Kimimaro was happy, yet concerned at why Sakura mentioned that.

"Me? What is so special about me Sakura?" Kimimaro cocked his head, an innocent question perhaps.

"Well, you know what? I really do not know Kimimaro." Sakura was as confused as he. Maybe it was just a feeling of some kind?

"Oh! That reminds me.." Kimimaro eyes watched as Sakura dug into her pocket. A few seconds later, she pulled out a little bag of food.

"You must not get a variety of food here...they do feed you right?"

"Hai. But, the familiar taste is starting to annoy me." Kimimaro replied, his eyes still fixed on the little goodie bag.

"Well then...here." Sakura reached over in between the bars of his cell, holding out the bag to him. Kimimaro stared back and fourth between her and the food, wondering what to do.

"Take it. It's okay, really! I have plenty back at home." Sakura's warm smile was encouraging him. After a long moment of silence, Kimimaro gently received the goodies from her and opened it cautiously. It contained round tan circles, with brown hard things among it.

"Sakura...what are these?" Sakura's face instantly became confused.

"You don't know? Well, those are cookies."

"Coo...kies?

"Hai. They're really good Kimimaro!" Sakura gestured him to eat one. Kimimaro once again stalled, afraid of this new thing. Carefully, he pulled one out, studied it, and took one teeny tiny bite. Immediately, he finished the cookie in two bites and started on another one while Sakura laughed.

"Are they good?"

"Mhmm. I'fve nefver...tried these...before.." He replied, taking a chunk out of the helpless cookies between each word. Sakura waited in peaceful silence as she watched him devour the whole bag, down to the last crumb. Wiping off the leftovers on his face, he handed the completely empty bag to Sakura.

"Thank you Sakura. Those were good!" Kimimaro nodded happily, now tasting the aftertaste in his mouth. Sakura laughed again, blushing because of it. After she was done laughing, she realized that she couldn't stay here too long.

"Kimimaro?"

"What is it?"

"I kinda...gotta go." Sakura stared at the ground, now qualifying as the most interesting thing to look at.

"So soon?" Kimimaro saddened at those words.

"Hai. My parents mgiht get suspicious. I'm not supposed to be here actually." Sakura rose from the ground, continuing to stare towards the ground.

Oh, I understand." With that, Sakura slowly walked back to the door, but halted to a stop.

"Will...will you come back tomorrow?" Kimimaro blushed just a hint at the question. It seemed greedy. Sakura turned her head to look at him.

"Of course Kimmi-kun..." Sakura exited, once again leaving the door wide open.

"Okay! I'll be-...wait...Kimmi-kun?"

**Ja, I love writing this! Review so Sakura will come back again!**


	3. Rescue

Four more reviews! Ah, you people make me happy! Now, as promised, here's a new chapter for this lovable story. Hope I'm not late for my deadline...I'm not exactly sure if I even promised an update by the end of the week...

**I do not own the Naruto manga/series. **If I ever did, Sasuke wouldn't have a chicken butt as his hair.

Man...if you love this enough to fave it five times and have seven alerts...**you should review. Please? Pretty please with sugar on top?

* * *

**Sakura carefully climbed back into her room, trying to be as quiet as a mouse. She gently dropped the empty cookie pack into the trash can while grabbing her untouched nightgown draped over her bed.

While changing, she was repeating the words that she had been whispering ever since she got out of Kimimaro's hearing range.

"Do I?..Don't I?..." When finished, she collapsed on her bed, exhausted from all the sprinting she had to do to get back here before it was too late. A couple minutes later, she was sound asleep, dreaming.

-x-x-x-x-

"Morning." Kimimaro said out loud, to greet himself, having now one else available to do it otherwise. Checking out a small hole in the cement wall, he eyed where the shadows were.

"It should be about noon..." Kimimaro chuckled, he slept in a while. Guess it was late when Sakura came to visit him again. Wait..it was noon...that meant-

"Hey brat, up already?" A groggy, but well built man walked in, carrying a lunch tray, sloppily prepared.

"Oh...Yasuo.."

"What was that?"

"Yasuo-_san_.." Kimimaro gritted his teeth, but didn't show it. He hated this man. He didn't even give him any actual "food". Kimimaro had to lie about that partly to Sakura, meaning he did get food, and he was sick and tired of the taste, but he just didn't want to worry her.

"Now, that's a good little spoiled brat." Yasuo smiled a poor smile, while Kimimaro glared at him. Yasuo dug in his pocket and found the keys, which was able to open all the cells in this secluded area. Reluctantly, he shoved the key into the hole, opened the rusty cell door, and just plopped the tray down, splattering whatever muck was on it.

"Heh, now you just eat. We'd get in trouble if you died, so stuff your mouth." Yasuo smiled again, showing his rotten teeth. Slamming the door shut, he eyeballed Kimimaro. Every day, he wouldn't leave until Kimimaro ate a big chunk, or whatever was there.

"I'm not hungry..." Kimimaro slumped down, already barfing from the look of the food.

"Oh, you're not? Well then...wait! I don't care, just eat it you ugly worm!" Yasuo yelled, echoing throughout the building. He kept pointing to the food, which was gathering flies by now. Kimimaro glared a death glare at him. Unfortunately, he knew he had to at least eat a gulp of the food, so Kimimaro picked a tan pile of mush, which looked the best out of all the sloshy gunk.

Slowly, he dug his hand in, grimacing at the touch. He pulled away a small pile of the food, and found out it was brown on the inside. He gagged at the smell, and looked up at Yasuo. He seemed to have a red tint in his eyes as he smiled evily.

_'I hate you..'_ Kimimaro shoved it in his mouth, tasting warm, hard, crunchy, and soft things. The taste was horrifying, but Kimimaro managed to swallow it, tears appearing at the corner of his eyes. But, a few seconds later, Kimimaro made a sickening cough, leaned over and threw up.

Yasuo laughed, opened the door again, took the tray of food, and laughed once more.

"Serves you right you demon. Maybe you should just kill yourself with those bones of yours'." Yasuo closed the door, and started walking out, leaving a quivering and crying Kimimaro lying on the ground.

"Oh, you look thirsty. Well, drink your spit." With that, he walked out. Kimimaro tilted his head up, to watch him walk out.

"I...h-hate yo-ou..."

-x-x-x-x-

"I'm off! See you guys! Bye!" Sakura waved goodbye to her team. All but one waved back, and that was someone named Sasuke. Sakura couldn't help but like him just a little, but she didn't know what was stopping her. It would've been easy to completely fall for that boy, but it didn't seem right at all.

"I have to get ready for Kimi-kun..." Sakura whispered to herself, heading to her home. She spent most of the afternoon getting ready, looking for this, packing that, the likes. Sometimes, she couldn't understand what took her so long to get ready.

Finally, late at night, she was ready to go. Almost forgetting, she reached in a box located in her room, and pulled out another cookie bag. She could just imagine the look on his face once he saw these again.

-x-x-x-x-

"Kimi-kun?" Sakura pushed the door open. Normally, it was open, but today it was not. She knew something wasn't right. She could feel it.

"Kimi-kun? Kimimaro?" Sakura was confused. By the time she walked in, the candles would light up and Kimimaro would at least shout her name, to lead her over to him in the darkness. Yet, this still didn't occur.

Startling her, the candles lit up all at once, allowing her to see. Instantly her face brightened up when she found Kimimaro lying on the ground in his cell, like usual.

"Kimi-kun! I-wait...Kimi-kun!" She rushed over to her beloved friend and patted his back through the rusty steel bars.

"Kimimaro?! I don't like this game you're playing!" Sakura shouted, scared because now she knew what didn't feel right. Sakura knew if she didn't act quick, something bad would happen. Luckily, an idea popped into her head. She performed a couple hand signs, than placed two hands on Kimimaro's back. She furrowed her brow as her hands glowed sea green. After a couple moments, she rested her hands. Only time could tell if he was alright.

Suddenly, she heard a cough that did not come from her. Kimimaro sat up, and coughed into his sleeve crazily. His face seemed in pain, but a smile arose on hers'.

"Kimi-kun! You're okay!" This made Kimimaro stop and look up. His face too, lit up exactly like the candles did.

"Sakura!" Kimimaro coughed a few more times, not being able to hold them in. But, he still managed to smile for her.

"Oh, thank God Kimi-kun. I thought you were gone!"

"What do you mean?"

"You were lying on the ground all life less, and I got worried, so I performed a jutsu my Mom taught me for these circumstances." Sakura was shaking and nodding her head, still not being as calm as she should be.

"So...basically you saved my life Sakura?" Sakura's face turned red. She actually did didn't she? Or, at least they both thought she did.

"Yeah...I guess..." Sakura looked at the ground, not knowing what to say after this particular situation. But it appeared as if Kimimaro didn't know either. Sakura twiddled her thumbs, as Kimimaro drew odd shapes in the dirt he was sitting upon.

"I think I should say...thacks you?"

"Do you mean "thank" you?"

"Oh...yep." Kimimaro's face got a hint of redness as he felt embarrassed. Hard to believe, but he hadn't ever said that to anyone. He only heard it once before from conversation outside the walls of the prison. Kimimaro was definitely not a people person.

"Well..you're welcome Kimi-kun." Sakura smiled. Her face copied Kimimaro's.

"What do you think made you pass out like that?" Kimimaro turned his head to look behind him. Should he really tell her about Yasuo? Or would she tell someone and they would tell Yasuo and who knows what would happen to him?

_'No. It's Sakura...she would never do that.'_ Kimimaro agreed with his thoughts, and turned his head back to face Sakura.

"The person who gives me food..he made me eat something horrible, which made me throw up."

"What?! Like food poisoning?!"

"I guess you can call it that."

"That's awful! I should report this to the Hokage right away!" Sakura instantly rose and started heading out the door. Her instincts had taken control.

"Wait! Sakura!" Kimimaro reached out his hand, but missed hers'. Maybe it would be a good thing to for her to report. But maybe it wasn't...but Kimimaro didn't think much about it, as he thought Sakura was his one friend now and he could trust her. Besides, he'd see her tomorrow.

Plus, she dropped a bag of cookies on the ground ahead of him.


	4. A Few Plans

Ahaha...well, you see I've updated...**finally.** I'm really sorry I had to keep all of you waiting! I absolutely love you guys and want to thank you from the bottom of my heart!! Really, you guys who read and possibly review, are my life!

So, yeah. Thanks for sticking with this story. I appreciate it so very much. :D

**I do not own Naruto series/manga.** If I did, Temari and Kankuro would get more screentime.

Review please! Pretty please?

Oh, I'm sorry that this is kinda short. I didn't really have any ideas...gomen.

* * *

Sakura walked glumly down the street leading to her house. She felt bad that she had left her friend just all of a sudden, making him depressed. She didn't want him to be depressed, nor hurt, because she was probably his only friend. Sakura sighed as she climbed the side of her house, up to the open window waiting for her return.

She quietly climbed in feet first, repeating the same process she had just done yesterday. As she changed into her nightgown, she thought over her plan.

"Alright. Tomorrow morning, we will finally start this."

-x-x-x-x-

"Mother! I'm leaving!"

"Alright, have a good mission today!" Sakura shut the door with one pull and headed to the Hokage building, instead of her team's meeting area.

Heh, this time, I'll be the one who's late." Sakura chuckled at her joke as she sprinted faster towards the Hokage Mansion.

Once she arrived at the entrance, she meant with Raido and Genma, whom guarded the entrance. They eyed her questioningly, awaiting an answer from her.

"Um, hi." Sakura smiled dumbly, one that was new to this, "I would like to speak with the Hokage."

"What is your situation?" Genma asked the question he had asked ever since he was assigned to this job.

"Huh?" Sakura nervously questioned back, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"You can't enter without giving a full explanation of what you want the Hokage to deal with. So, we get to decide whether it is of the utmost importance, or if it's just a little kid's meaningless request." Raido continued the speech given to most people.

"Oh...uh.." Sakura fiddled with her hair, not knowing whether not if it was such a good plan anymore. If it was an important situation, they would react quickly, possibly going to do something with Kimimaro, not in a good way. If it wasn't an important one, well, that was just it.

"Er, never mind." Sakura blushed from embarrassment, turned around swiftly and sprinted down the road, arousing strange looks from both of the jounin.

Sakura finally stopped a few yards away from them, and knocked on her head.

"Hello?! Is there a brain in there? What was I thinking.." Sakura, now annoyed with herself asked. Of course, they would go after Kimimaro and Heaven knows what would happen to him. Sakura's mood went down, thinking of what could happen to Kimimaro. She shook her head to get rid of them.

"No. I won't let that happen to Kimi-kun. I have another plan." Sakura said right before sprinting again, this time, in the right direction to meet with her teammates.

-x-x-x-x-

"Morning.." Kimimaro once again greeted himself, somewhat wishing that Sakura could greet him back. He felt so lonely during the day, wanting night to come quicker now that Sakura appeared in his life. He was her ray of hope, as Kimimaro would often say to himself to help him feel happier.

"Ah...so you're awake." Kimimaro's expression switched to surprised as his instincts turned his head in the direction of the sound. His pure emerald eyes met with cold, dark ones, belonging to no one but Yasuo.

"Hey, ya' miss me? Wait, of course not, considering you have no heart." Kimimaro's eye twitched in anger at his mean comment. Yasuo just smiled a cold smile.

"I hate to see you like that...but I guess I have too. I just can't wait until your dead." Kimimaro gritted and bared his teeth, trying to warn Yasuo not to go any father. Unfortunately, he failed.

"Heh, anyway, I found _this _in your cell while you were sleeping." Yasuo held the ripped, empty cookie bag Kimimaro forgot to stuff away somewhere. Kimimaro's face changed again, to an afraid one.

"So, did you get this from someone?" Yasuo asked seriously. Kimimaro just bit his lip and stared at the ground. After moments of silence, Yasuo stood up, very annoyed.

"So you won't tell me anything, will you mutant? Well then, I guess I'll let this slide, considering I'm hungry and don't want to deal with you right now. Oh, but you won't get any lunch today maggot." Yasuo spoke as he strode to the door. Kimimaro left out a sigh of relief, knowing that Sakura would be safe now.

Kimimaro watched eagerly as Yasuo exited and slammed it shut once he was on the outside of this eerie area.

Kimimaro let out another sigh of relief, happy that he was now gone for today. But, Kimimaro's stomach soon growled out of food withdrawal, and his mood downed once more. Though, at least he wouldn't have to suffer through eating that muck.

"Well, Sakura hopefully will bring a treat tonight..." Kimimaro smiled at just the thought of her, but what he didn't know, was that Yasuo may have just been listening through the wall at his conversation with himself.

**

* * *

**

Uh-oh...that's not good at all, is it? Well, just pretend that little blue "go" button is Yasuo and you want to pound him hard into the ground! Come on, do it! Seriously, for how many times people push that, just _might_ determine where this story goes...


	5. Treasure and Change

Oh. My. Fudging. God. I am so, so, so, so, sorry!!! My poor readers! You must've been suffering from Kimi-kun withdrawal!! Gomenasai!! What is wrong with me?! GAH! **-bangs head on desk..repeatedly-**

I think I have a concussion..anywho! I am sorry that I didn't update is so long! Like, two months! OMG!!!11! Seriously, I _am_ sincerely sorry though. But, please be thankful for my one bestest bud I have for reminding me, like so:

Lilac: **-drops books on her foot..again-** Ow...

Nii-san: Sa-mooth. Hey, by the by, how's your story coming along?

Lilac: **-realization sinks in- **Oh...shiznit—Dattebayo!~ **-runs out the school doors-**

There are other reasons, like my computer going beserk on me and my Mom, being a procrastinator, (runs in the family) fixing it in two weeks, my evil teachers assigning these frustrating projects, and the obvious reason: my long-term memory loss. I **hate** being young and foolish!!!

...Now, I here by present to you, for all my bad actions, a long chapter!! Da did da da! Enjoy and review for reasons of the unknown!! :D

-x-x-x-

Exhausted from training, Sakura collapsed onto the ground, stared heavenward, and seemed to be paralyzed. Squad 7's training had dragged on longer than usual, and was more tiring than normal. Panting heavily, she tried to pick out a constellation to focus on, to get her mind straight.

"Hm..Perseus.. "The Hero"..." Sakura mumbled effortless, "Come to think of it, I bet I'm Kimi-kun's hero." She smiled warmly, but an immediate blush crept up and spread across her face. Just saying his name would get her worked up, and not in a good way. In an attempt to concentrate on her plan, she sat up abruptly.

"Let's see, if I can manage to perform Dad's jutsu," Sakura drew her game plan in the invisible air, "Then the bars would break—wait, they're probably rusty, so I should be able to break them with ease." She bit her lip in deep thought, a habit of many.

"But then..what do I say to Kimi-kun? And what about my parents? I'm of that age now, so, there would be no possible way to convince them." The little cherry blossom furrowed her brows in frustration. A few minutes of silence, not counting the creatures of nature, went by, and not one word came from her lips. Suddenly, she stood up and clenched her fists.

"Alright, that's it. I've made my decision. Hang in there Kimi-kun!" With her kunoichi tactics, she sprinted through the woods to Kimimaro's "home", with barely a sound.

-x-x-x-

"_No! Sakura, run! You stay away from her!" Kimimaro shouted desperately to Yasuo in the dark, laughing maniacally. A blood curling scream struck and echoed throughout the corridor, fading every second._

"Sakura!!" Kimimaro screamed, sitting up, waking from his nightmare so suddenly. The good hearted boy panted like a dog, thankful that his worry could now rest. Lately, he's been having something nagging him in the back of his genius mind, warning him, but he could not just figure it out, thus, the nightmare.

"You okay, Kimi-kun?" Kimimaro's eyes flickered open and squinted to make out Sakura's face; his emerald green eyes matched hers as they met. She no longer really needed an "invitation", but boy, was she a silent one.

"Oh! Sakura!" Sakura's stomach flipped when she heard her precious name being called by his precious mouth. Her face flushed crimson and it was so bright that Kimimaro could see it in the dim light. For a few moments, he continued to gaze at Sakura, sitting upon her knees, twiddling her fingers innocently.

_'Wow...even though we logically barely known each other, it feels like we've been friends for a long while...'_

As if it had a good reason to, at that perfect moment in time, Kimimaro's stomach grumbled like a..like a cookie monster. Kimimaro groaned slightly and hung his head in deep embarrassment. Sakura looked around wildly, her face covered in fear.

"U-um..Kimi-kun? What was that? It sounded like a bear or something.."

_**Blush blush blush.**_

"Or maybe more like an explosion of something.."

_**Blush..blush..blush.**_

"Nah! Well maybe—"

"_Sakura!!_" Kimimaro's face was stained with some hard to remove humility, "It's me alright!"

"_Oh_...So, you have a intestinal problem?"

"...No. I'm just hungry, is all." Kimimaro patted his stomach gently. Sakura looked at him with concern amongst her face. She sighed heavily, making Kimimaro look up, also with concern, but getting the message that she had forgotten a snack. Almost instantly, he felt guilty.

"Oh! But, Sakura! You don't have to feel bad! I mean, I've gone without food for days!" In an attempt to make her feel better, he smiled that almost invisible smile. Instantly, Sakura brightened up and returned it with a wide grin. Soon enough though, her expression turned unreadable.

"You know Kimi-kun?"

"Hmm?" He stared at her intricate face, trying to solve the puzzle. Failing to do so, he switched his line of sight to her hands, resting delicately on her thighs.

"Um...have you ever thought what it was like..to be outside this..this cell?"

"Sometimes, but it hurts to, because that is just a impossibility. From what I know, no one would like me to be outside this prison, for whatever reason, I don't know." Sakura felt completely absurd. How can someone, as young as her, have such a wide vocabulary, but be her friend? She immediately felt worse than a few minutes ago, which made Kimimaro concerned yet again.

"Oh! Heh, I'm sorry. Sometimes I ramble and tend to seem all professional and such... Habit I guess." Kimimaro explained in a playful tone, while scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. His positive attitude at her cheered up Sakura once more. Now _this_ seemed more like a habit..

But she know what she had to do. Even if it had a negative outcome, at least she'd have the memory of trying. The slightest moment of silence made her fidget now, her mind urging her.

"Kimi-kun...?"

"Yes, Sakura?"

Without warning, Sakura built up a powerful thrust in her arm, let it go, fist meeting with rusty bar. It broke instantly from its original place, leaving a gaping hole wide open. Swiftly, she pulled her arm sideways, crushing other bars, but this was expected. But the whole situation to Kimimaro was confusion. Once the hole had grown to be the right size, Sakura placed her hand gently over her thigh again, her hand hanging.

"S-S-Sakura?!" Kimimaro's face was contorted with fear, "W-W-What did you just do?!"

"....."

"_Sakura!_" Kimimaro demanding while leaning forward fiercely, "You...you just put yourself in danger! I don't care what happens to me about this strange act, but Yasuo"-he cringed at the hazardous word- "He will wonder and then come after you! I know he will! Sakura, tell me why! Please!" He begged, his heart pounding in his chest. He wanted nothing to happen to his friend, his first friend to be exact, nothing!

"Kimimaro..I...I did it because..I want you to be safe!" Sakura yelled back, her nails digging deeper into her palms.

"How's that supposed to help Sakura?! And I told you, all _I_ want is for _you_ to be safe! Just tell me the real reason!"

"That is the real reason you idiot!" They both flinched at the word. By instinct, Sakura covered her mouth, in deep fear she offended her friend. He just stared back at her, his normally happy eyes now filled with depression.

_'What have I...I finally get a friend, and now..I'll be alone. God, it hurts so much..my chest..' _Sakura was overreacting, but, could it have been true? One simple word and bam? It would be gone?

"I-...I'm-..I'm sorry Kimi-kun...that just came out..I'm so sorry..please, don't get mad at me, please.." Sakura pleaded, tears welling up in her eyes. It was bad enough that Kimimaro was in a sad state for a moment, but she couldn't bear losing him..it would hurt so badly. But at the same time, she didn't want to be rejected, especially from him, so Sakura got up quickly and ran out the door to the ominous building, crying.

"Sakura!" Kimimaro shouted desperately, but knew she wouldn't hear him. Deciding in a split second, he stood up too, and attempted to climb out of the gaping hole Sakura had made in the dim light.

"Sakura! Wait-urgh!" His robe had inadvertently got stuck on a jagged end on one of the bars and held Kimimaro in one place. Knowing he didn't have enough time to fiddle with the material, he lunged forward, ripping the fabric free from the bars' clutch, though leaving it frayed. Kimimaro stumbled his way out as fast as he could manage.

_'I **am** an idiot..'_

The outside world compared to nothing he had seen before, besides Sakura. He had seen it a couple times before, but those memories had faded. Trees, as he thought they were called, surrounded the area in a neat fashion, but the sky was darker than he had imagined. Of course, Kimimaro had no time to marvel at the world, as his mission was to find his run-away friend. He looked around frantically.

At last, his hopeful eyes glimpsed a pink object, and his instincts told him it must be Sakura. The white-haired boy sprinted, tripping slightly on his own feet every once in a while. Kimimaro continued to follow as fast as his legs could take him. Only one time did he lose sight, but his keen ears heard Sakura's sobs and allowed him to pick up on her trail again.

-x-x-x-

"I'm sorry!" Sakura's voice cracked in her yelp as she scaled the side of her house, up towards her unlocked window. Kimimaro gazed upwards in a mixture of despair and worry. Hesitantly, he climbed up the slanted side also, in an effort to catch up. Before he was even halfway up, Sakura fiddled with the window, jerked it open, and practically fell inside. Kimimaro increased his speed as much as he could before he wouldn't be able to come in.

Surprisingly, the window never did slide back down into the closed position, allowing Kimimaro to take his time so he wouldn't injure himself. When finally up to the height of the window, and by accident, fell in too, arousing a thump onto the carpeted floor of Sakura's room. Ignoring a throb in his torso area, he raised his head. The sight of Sakura made him blink twice: rapidly shaking body, head in hands, sitting awkwardly upon the bed, tears escaping and dropping to the floor like rain. How could anyone so perfect, be so dang sad?

Sluggishly, Kimimaro rose, "S-Sakura?" The picture of her weeping so harshly; it hurt to gander at.

"I'm s-s-sorry..." Her voice was shrouded in depression and often cracked.. It was hard to believe it was the melodic tone of Sakura's voice. "I should h-have never...e-even..talked t-to y-you.."

"But Sakura—" He struggled for the right words; none came to mind. All he could do was watch her..it was plain torture. Sighing deeply, Kimimaro looked about the room.

It was an actual bedroom, something he had longed to see. The walls were painted tan with a pink tint to it, bookcase on one side of the room, a few scrolls here and there, posters too. One said: "Love will conquer all!", which made his mood lighten ever so slightly. Just when he thought he saw everything, there was an averaged size canvas hanging up on the wall, right beside Sakura's bed. The most intriguing part was that it had a painted portrait...of him.

The lines were a perfect size and flowed among the picture. The eyes looked like there was a shine in them, and a barely see-able smile was planted on his face. He was looking sideways at something, Kimimaro guessed because he was embarrassed, and his right cheek rested delicately on his hands. They were folded neatly, placed onto a table, and he could see the surroundings, trees, birds, and a little bunny rabbit in the corner. It was beautiful.

"Sakura?" Kimimaro asked curiously. It took a few minutes for the worst part of Sakura's crying to cease.

"Y-yes..you can go now if you want. I understand."

"No, it's not that Sakura! It's that!" Kimimaro pointed to the black and white portrait. Sakura's shining emerald eyes followed his finger.

"Did you do that Sakura?" Kimimaro smiled the invisible smile and sat on his knees upon the silky covering of her bed, towards the picture. Sakura's mouth still remained a frown, but she gave an effort to nod. His reaction surprised her, because his mouth opened in a wide smile.

"That's amazing Sakura! How did you do that? Was it hard? Most importantly though, why did you paint a portrait..of me?" His expression went confused, but curious again. He wasn't that important, or..was he? Sakura was reluctant to answer right away. She cutely twiddled her fingers again. Her art was _that_ good?

"Well...um, you were a change in my life Kimi-kun. So, I feel that you're special, and I wanted to express that in something everyone could see. You'll forever be that special change. So...yep." Kimimaro's face began feeling hot. So many questions popped in his head; they were way too much..interesting. He knew that his face must be red, the shade of Sakura's clothing to be exact. One thought came out in speech though.

"Well then, you're my treasure Sakura! And you'll always be and you have to understand that! I'll never let anything happen to you!" It was Sakura's turn for her face to match her clothing. Kimimaro really thought of her like that? Both of their hearts pounded hard on the rib cage. It was only a few minutes, but it seemed like forever before Kimimaro broke the silence, his face finally turning to the normal pale shade. Not with sound did he break it; he had held out a fist to Sakura while leaning in, deeply shocking her, but then he extended his pinky finger slowly.

"It's a promise then...Sakura-chan.." Sakura widened her eyes at both of these things. Strangely, her heart warmed, like something had finally been connected at last. Calming down, she too leaned in, and reflected his image.

"It's a promise...Kimi-kun.."

Their fingers linked together and it felt peaceful once more, like nothing in the world could hurt them.

~Friends Forever~

Phew..**-wipes forehead off- **My heart really enjoyed this too... I hope this made up for the terribly long delay! Once again, I'm sorry. **-bows-** And guess what? I'm gonna hold a contest! Details will be posted tomorrow on my profile, (which would be November. 10th)! But it is late, and technically I'm disobeying my Mom to write this, but I don't care right now, and I'm tired, so goodnight!


	6. Forgetful

Ehrm...well, I don't have an excuse this time. **-sweatdrop-** I _did_ remember this story, and I promised myself that I wouldn't make you readers wait awhile...but there's so much pressure!! That is, of both my writing and art.

Just to sum it all up, I have an account on DeviantArt, but I still need to decide on what I am going to draw for my first deviation, (which is extremely important), and in Fanfiction...well, a lot of my reviewers left...seriously. T^T And, gomen for not being able to reply to your reviews!!! Internet was down..=_='

Anywho, enjoy please and leave a review if ya' like! (P.S.- Only one person attempted my contest/riddle, and she won it, but she had no idea of what to put into it, so, yep. Thanks anyway Storm Front! Plus, I didn't go over this chapter for any mistakes or to try to edit something to make more sense, because I'm lazy, so excuse any that I made!

-x-x-x-

Sakura's face was wet, not by rain, but from her own waterfall of salty tears. Although, she didn't seem to notice the flaw at all, nor did Kimimaro. Besides, her face sparkled like an actual lake. The self-conscious cherry blossom smiled, not quite one made of pure happiness, but somewhere along the lines of embarrassment. The famous, towards Sakura anyhow, invisible smile was already plastered onto the white-haired boy's face, completing the work of art.

"Oi, Sakura!" A low voice was heard near the outer doorway, "It's awfully late, there shouldn't be such a racket in there!" It abruptly snapped both of them out of their trances, unlocking their fingers. Luckily, Sakura was able to regain herself in order to reply.

"I-I know!" Those words were the only that came to mind. She smiled sheepishly at her friend who returned it shockingly. It disappeared shortly as a curious eyebrow raised up on his brow.

"Is that your...erm..Dud?"

"Krmf..you mean my.._Dad?_" It took all of Sakura's strength not to burst out laughing. They needed to be careful now that they knew that her parents were still awake. Still, it was hard.

"Oh, yeah...that's what I meant." Kimimaro scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. Sakura twiddled with a lock of her hair in the strange, but awkward silence. Wait, exactly how long had they been sitting like that? It seemed as though it occurred in their minds at the same time, as their gazes met one another.

"I don't know."

"I don't have a clue."

"Maybe it was...an hour...?"

"Sakura-chan, I'm sorry, but I doubt that."

"Hmph, like you would have a clue."

"I said 'I don't have a clue,'!" Sakura glared playfully at Kimimaro, he pouted sarcastically in return. Then, Kimimaro let out a surprised gasp as he no longer felt a soft ground underneath him. Only a split second went by as his behind met the floor, arousing a loud "thump". He stared at Sakura in playful anger as a sly smile was dabbed on her face and her hands were frozen in the position used to push someone away, or off of. It would've been nice, if a certain paranoid someone would've kept to his old man business.

"Sakura! Are you alright?!" Her Dad's voice was heard again; worry obviously was found in the tone. In a flash, footsteps.

"Crap! Kimi-kun quick—dwuah!" With the sudden rush of adrenaline and panic swelling up inside, Sakura had forgotten about Kimimaro that was upon the floor. Deja Vu crept up somewhat as she stumbled over Kimimaro's legs, almost dropping down directly on top of him, if not for the rash decision to change course. The pink-haired girl's left leg barely missed the white-haired boy's area, as also her thin left hand missed its target, (that being Kimimaro's face), and her whole body crashed down to the rough carpeted floor. Thus the footsteps quickened at the extra noise.

Only for a moment did they gaze into one another's eyes, tints of pink swiftly appearing on their faces, until the redfaced girl's senses returned.

"Kuso!" She cursed hoarsely, "Hurry!" The slightly confused cherry snatched the snow white boy's wrist and wrenched him upwards, leaping over him harshly. A rattling abruptly rang in their ears, being that of Sakura's doorknob.

"Kuso! Sakura!" She ignored her father's plead and desperately searched for a hiding place. Behind the curtain? No, he would see his feet. Underneath the bed? No, that would be one of the first places to find something peculiar.

Wait! The closet.

"Kimi-kun! Quickly, in here!" Sakura whispered urgently, opening the closet door with her free hand and shoving him inside with the other. As the rapid shaking of the doorknob continued, she gave him a final: 'Don't. You. _Dare_. Touch. Anything.', look before shutting the door as quietly as she could. Kimimaro rumbled in the closet's contents, being in an uncomfortable position from the start. Sakura tried her best to look as though nothing happened, and hastily shook of the remaining droplets of tears.

Finally, the door gave and opened without warning. Sakura briskly spun around, her back touching the closet door lightly. Her hands were glued to the door handle as her father approached her immediately.

"Sakura! Are you alright?! Did something happen? Were you hurt? What was that thump? Why—"

"Dad! Relax!" Sakura interrupted, fidgeting from his hands wringed around her shoulders, "Nothing happened. I just...fell, is all."_ 'Erratic much, Dad?'_

"Sakura," Her father sighed, not believing the excuse, "You are a kunoichi, are you not?"

"Hai, but—"

"Then that is a poor excuse. We just don't simply fall Sakura, unless something tripped us." He raised a suspicious eyebrow; his grip was still firm.

She eyed the ground depressingly. She _was_ never good at lying, so what to tell him? Be a normal teenager going through puberty? One of those effects having an attitude? Nah, would never work. Her slim eyebrows shot up as she stared back of her father's dramatic, and unexpected, expression change. It was now sympathy.

"Oh, my little blossom, were you crying?" Sakura's father's grip softened; obviously noticing her swollen eyes and stains of tears from crying, "Are you sad because you're going through changes?" She had to blink twice before giving a quick nod, ready to take in anything for her to get out of this predicament.

"Geez, my child has grown up! My sweet seed is growing into a beautiful blossom! I can't believe it! I taught you how to perform healing jutsus, I taught you how to sprint silently, I even taught you how to punch a brain out of uncivilized men!"

"_Dad_!" She was shrouded with warmth from an embrace only excepted from relatives. Her face flushed as she scowled at the chuckling coming from the closet. White and squiggly happy tears slid down her father's face as he sobbed too dramatically. After what seemed like an eternity, he let go of her and left her presence skipping out of her room. Highly humiliated from her father's show, she slammed the door, almost breaking it off its hinges. Head hung low, she returned to her comfy sanctuary and gate to dream land. Instantly, the world was black.

-x-x-x-

Sunlight seeped in through the windows, poking gently at Sakura's eyelids. Blinking multiple times, the blossom yawned loudly as she stretched. _'How long did I sleep?'_ She wondered, groggily rising from her bed. She headed towards the window, a quite short distance, and leaned against its railing for support. Sakura gazed down at the many people below.

She saw mostly family interactions, for it was morning and was expected. There was a young boy being lifted effortlessly upon a man's shoulders. A girl tugging at a young woman's skirt, pointing curiously at an unknown object. Siblings whom were playing tag about in a yard. It was peaceful. Konohagakure always was, most of the time.

A quick, but chilly breeze swept inside uninvited, and wrapped itself around Sakura. It made her uneasy, so she subconsciously brought down the window frame.

"Wait," Sakura thought aloud, "Why was the window open anyway? I didn't—!!! Kimi-kun!"

She practically dove for the the closet handles when the realization kicked in. The pink-haired girl yanked hard to open them, much to her arms' discomfort. She yelped when a body fell out, right on top of her. As he was sprawled amongst her, red ran right across her face. After a few excruciatingly long, and painful seconds went by, he sleepily opened his eyes.

"Oh....morning Sakura-chan.."

"...."

"Ah! Sakura-chan!" Realization swept through him like the chill that engulfed Sakura moments earlier, as Kimimaro launched himself backwards, deeply ashamed.

"Sakura-chan! Gomenasai!!" Kimimaro flailed his hands around as he tried to search for a proper explanation. Sakura sat up abruptly, pushing her red shirt-skirt down farther in a deep embarassment. She forced herself not to look at him, because it would make her blush even more.

"I didn't try to! I just-OW!" Unaware that the closet door had shut, Kimimaro smacked his forehead a bit too hard, thus banging his head against it...hard.

"Kimi-kun! Are you okay?!" She hovered over him, her hands doing the same, as he showed the typical action everyone does when they get hurt: placing a hand over the injured area.

"Sakura-chan," He looked up at her, "It's silly to worry over something like this. It's just a simple everyday thing. A lot of people bang their head against something, be it by accident or purpose."

"But...but _you_ are the one who got hurt! You're my change! I_ need_ to worry!" Sakura's brows upturned in worry, hence her words. Despite the kind sentences, the white-haired boy's smile went away.

"No, Sakura-chan. _You_ are the one _I_ need, no, want to worry about! You're my treasure!" He leaned forward fiercely in determination. The blossom's eyebrows rose from the body movement. My, how close her face was to his now. She immediately scooted backwards, even though she wanted to do something different. She bit her lip as her head turned sideways.

"I like the color of my wall!" Sakura said, eagerly wanting to change the subject to a matter more normal for a friend to a friend. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rocked back and forth on her heels, self-consciously. Kimimaro stared at her blankly, his eyes now halves of white circles.

"S-Sakura-chan..."

-x-x-x-

"Kuso...he's gone." A rasp voice said and its owner kicked the pieces of steel left over from the situation in rage. Another man suddenly phased beside him.

"No need, we'll just look for him. He shouldn't be hard to find." The oddly familiar man said.

"And how do you suppose we do that?!" The enraged one shouted, glaring at his partner.

"Here," The calm man gestured for his partner to hold out his hand, and when he did, placed a wrapper upon his palm.

"What is this?"

"I had found it, in his cell when he was still here. I thought it was suspicious, so I kept it and asked him some questions. The brat wouldn't tell me anything, so I had left." The man said in disgust.

"So?" The previously enraged man replied, "It has a friend?"

"Yes...her name's Sakura."

* * *

Yah, I'm evil. ;) Thank you for all the reviews you kind readers leave me!! Though, I lost some of my reviewers! D: Oh well...um...new reviews will be given to charity!! 8D


	7. Feeling

Alright...uh, please don't hurt me. ^^' I know from one of my reviewers that she would chain me to my computer until I write more of this, but her plan didin't work. She knows who she is. ^^

I really _am_ trying to be more...active on this, but a lot of things distract me, and plus I have to go through a process to write my stories..whom is quite dull, so, that's a reason I'm late. **-gets smacked with a paddle-** Ah....but enjoy~! Oh! A _yukata_ is a japanese robe by the way!

(P.S. Currently, _May Break My Bones_ is undergoing a re-write right now, but not dramtically. I will just update the previous chapters a tad more, to make them more understandable and not grammatically horrid. Mmkay', done.)

-x-x-x-

"Sakura? Haruno Sakura?" A calm and collected voice asked, curiosity present.

"Hai. It seems that it has been socializing with her without our knowledge. And I'm positive he left in a rush too, because part of his yukata was ripped off, and the piece was fringed." A rash voice replied, whom also voice practically stung the air when he pronounced, "it".

"A Haruno girl? Psh, they're completely ignorant." An also not so pleasant voice added.

"Shut your trap. Who knows how powerful-" The supossedly calm voice snapped, but didn't get to finish his sentence, or thought.

"Okay, now _you're_ being ignorant." Probably the one who would rank in second to an unpleasant sound as a voice, chuckled out.

"Shut it, Yasuo, Makuni!" "So collected man" shouted, "We have no time to argue. If that...if _it_ tells her anything about us, it could ruin the whole plan."

"Yeah, I know. Grr...stupid mutant." Yasuo's voice stung the air once more, "So, what do you suppose we do?"

"Well," Makuni answered, "we should use one of the tracking nin-ken to locate them."

"Use dogs? Fah! Fat chance, Makuni. We should do this like real men."

"Actually, if we wouldn't have stolen that brat from Kirigakure, this would have never happened."

"Oh...blaming me, huh? It was your idiotic idea to do it in the first place! _You_ should've known he wouldn't let us use him like a tool! Moron."

"Ba-"

"Enough you two!!" The seemingly leader of the pack yelled loud enough for it to echo throughout the building, "Anyhow, we won't be able to sneak into Konohagakure easily. With or without the nin-ken."

"So, what are you implying?"

"We just have to wait and see where this goes..until were ready to "get rid off some old possessions"..."

-x-x-x-

"Come on!! Please? For me?" Sakura pleaded with Kimimaro, anxiously tugging him towards the door leading to the outside of her room. Currently, her team had training once more today, and the stubborn cherry blossom wanted her group to meet the new "ninja" in town. Well, he wasn't one yet, but Sakura liked to call him that. One more month should be able to allow him to be a shinobi, along beside her.

A sudden year had passed since they had met for the first time, so, it shouldn't be a bother.

How she managed to keep him a secret, letting him stay in her room, she herself, shall never know.

Mysteriously, he had never met her team, and he didn't want to; the reason unknown to Sakura. She never went against his will in that year, but she thought that if this time didn't come yet, it never would.

"No, Sakura-chan!" Kimimaro groaned, grasping a bed pole for support to help him maintain his ground. She pulled harder, but he still refused. Finally, she gave up..for the mean time anyway.

"What is it with you and meeting people, Kimi-kun?" Sakura panted, knowing once more she'd be late, but not anymore late than her sensei would be.

"Sakura-chan..." The white-haired boy made an impatient sigh, "Don't you remember a time where you were shy?"

"Hai, of course. But what does that...!!"

"...D-Don't get any ideas Sakura-ch--"

"Awww!! You're shy, Kimi-kun!!" She giggled at her friend's flaw, while he fumed with redness splashed upon his face. Sakura did think it was a bit rude to do so, but friends normally do that to each other, right?

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Come on, Kimi-kun!! There's no use hiding it!" She had the sudden urge then, to pinch his cheek, to make him more flushed and add to the humor of the whole thing. She was hesitant though, because, she wants to believe that they are only friends, and they are, but, would Kimimaro like that? Regardless, she decided against it and continued to try to pry him from the bed pole and move him more than a few centimeters. Boy, was he strong.

"No!!"

"Please? Please, please, _please_?" In an attempt to distract him, she fluttered her eyelids like a butterfly's wings, and tried not to look like an idiot while doing so. Apparently, Kimimaro was a sucker for that sort of thing, and loosened his grip just enough for her to be able to pull him away, while also blushing a pink tint, matching Sakura's hair color.

'_Victory!'_ Sakura thought proudly. In a split second, she gave one large yank, possibly a bit too much, but making him fly from the bed pole straight towards the door. Just in the nick of time, Sakura opened the door for him to safely pass through, but was also yanked on through because of her strong grip on Kimimaro's robe.

Thus, resulting in a very uncomfortable slam into the wall for both of them. Fortunately, a certain paranoid father was out of the vicinity, and wouldn't notice.

"...Y-...You know what I think, Sakura-chan?" Kimimaro muttered, the sound muffled by his face practically flattened against the pink-orange colored wallpaper.

"...If it is anything about my lack of common sense, I do _not_ want to hear it."

"...Nevermind, then."

-x-x-x-

It was a while until they finally managed to get to the training fields, unhurt much that is. The stubborn pink cherry decided to persuade the snow-white boy to come to her session, but the boy, the girl's stubborness already wearing off on him, only agreed if he could watch from behind a tree. She was skeptical at first, knowing her sensei might sense his mere presence, but he assured her that he had trained himself in the art of masking his chakra, so her sensei wouldn't notice. Reluctantly, she nodded her head quickly, and did a quick jog to meet in the center of the field, leaving him behind a thick, overgrown tree.

"Ah~! Sakura-chan! There you are! I was wondering where you were!" A young lad named Naruto shouted, gesturing at her frantically. Kimimaro peeked out from the oak bark of the old plant confused. _'Sakura never mentioned Naruto calling her, "Sakura-chan"...' _he thought with a hint of jealousy.

"Oh, morning Naruto." She replied in return, followed by a yawn, probably a bit too obnoxious one.

"Ano? Are you tired Sakura-chan?"

"Well, actually I—"

"Na! I am too!" Naruto interrupted, forcing up a yawn of his own, possibly trying to relate to her to make her feel better. None the less, it didn't work; Sakura just let out an exasperated sigh, and slumped down into a criss cross position, letting out a "humph" as she did. Naruto, being an annoying ninja today, copied her. She stared at him. He stared at her. She looked away. He looked away. All the while a jealous little Kimimaro silently drilling holes into Naruto by his piercing glare.

"Hmph...you're intimidating her, you know Naruto..." Kimimaro grumbled to himself, but then, another boy came across them, and he guessed it was Sasuke, Sakura's other teammate she had mentioned to him. He just merely sat down next to them, folded his hands together, and placed his chin lightly upon them. During that process, the hyperactive blond was making a quite angry pout face, which amused Kimimaro, and Sakura, but that was unknown to Kimimaro.

It had taken about three more hours for her sensei to show up, and in that time, Kimimaro had dozed off a couple times, but always hit his head against the tree, automatically waking him once more, so, it really didn't matter. Once her session _did_ finally start, it was all a blur towards him. All their moves were so graceful, so well planned out, in such a synchronized pattern. But, sadly it got Kimimaro thinking: was he worthwhile? Could he actually prove himself to anyone? Everyone had hated his type back in his hometown—because of his kekkei genkai that is—and no one had ever mustered up the courage to befriend him, but he always thought no one ever _wanted_ to. Kimimaro urgently shook those thoughts out of his head and re-focused his mind on their practice. He had Sakura now; the rest didn't matter at all to him. As long as she was there, guiding him in every way, supporting him, he could live happily.

"Hey, Kimi-kun!" It took a second for him to realize that Sakura had called his name, since he was in a daze again. It also caught him by surprise; Sakura's condition. She was huffing a wind storm, dirt and mud stained her and her clothes, little scrapes covered her from top to bottom...what _had_ _happened_?

"S-Sakura-chan! Look at you!..What did you _do_?!" His response made Sakura giggle, perplexing him even more.

"I was just...training Kimi-kun! What else did you think...I was doing?" It was hard for her to say words in between all the giggling erupting. Kimimaro's face was frightened, not aroused at all.

"B-..But Sakura-chan! You're hurting yourself! What happens when you have missions to go on?! Is the outcome worse?!"

"Kimi-kun! _Kimi-kun_! Calm down!" Sakura ushered her friend to relax his nerves, but he just continued to tense. Fortunately, her teammates already left for home. "I don't get hurt _that_ badly!"

Hurt. Sakura. Those words she never be put together in the same sentence, or under _any _circumstances. Period. Or implied at all. Kimimaro, feeling awfully distraught about all of this, placed his head in his warm palms, and tightly gripped the strands of hair that had fallen.

"Ki...Kimi-kun? What's wrong?" Her heart sunk. She had never seen someone, or a friend for that matter, be so...worried. Or, that's what she thought that was the emotion he was expressing. Hesitantly, she gently place her fragile hand upon his back. She was no longer embarrassed with touching him.

He stayed silent. Sakura watched him, worry spreading on her face. What was it, she kept wondering, what is making Kimimaro so sad?

Unknown to Sakura, Kimimaro was having a sudden flashback; one that came upon someone not of their own accord.

_'Why, hello there," Kimimaro barely heard the voice, as he was carving deep into a tree with his own bone. He slowly turned, hiding his face from the bright sun with his yakatana sleeve._

"_Who...who's there?" It came out in a low, quiet tone. He saw the silhouette of a figure, approaching him with pride. The man that came into focus blocked the suns rays, allowing Kimimaro to let down his arm, which had already been aching from the work he'd done._

"_I see you have a very interesting technique there," the pale man pointed with his eyes toward the bone. The boy looked upon it too, and then glanced away quickly._

"_It's...nothing special," he replied, monotonously, "I think of it as more of a burden, rather than a power."_

"_Ah, but you see, I need that kind of power." The man continued, alerting Kimimaro's attention again, "Would you like to...come with me?"_

_The man raised his hand, a familiar gesture used when to touch someone. His hand extended toward Kimimaro's cheek, but he smacked it away, surprisingly the man deeply._

"_I...don't need you." He said, glowering in his snake eyes. He turned to resume his work, driving the hard bone into the wood once more. He heard the man chuckle, which provoked him._

"_You'll regret this boy, I know you will."_

"_No, I won't." Kimimaro replied quickly, instigating the pale snake. "I will find someone..who will care for me. Someone who won't use me as a tool, like I know you will."_

_He heard the man grit his teeth in anger, and heard the shuffles of his feet in the grass. He spoke one more time, the volume fading as he got further away._

"_I must warn you...this world, is full of people who don't trust. People who don't respect. People with hate in their soulless eyes. Be wary of those who have these qualities..for they might be the end of you."_

Kimimaro came out of this with a loud grunt. Without warning, his knees gave, and he collapsed upon them, bringing down Sakura with him.

"Kimi-kun!! Kimimaro! Please, tell me what's wrong!" Her voice was croaky, and it almost failed her completely. She had been trying to bring him out of whatever he was doing for the past fifteen minutes, and it was near nighttime. Her parents would get suspicious. Nevertheless, she didn't care about that. He was her main priority right now.

"End...end..." He choked out, gripping his head fiercely, his clean nails digging into his scalp. The words haunted him, like a story meant to scare.

"Kimimaro, please tell me what's wrong," She pleaded desperately, grasping the soft fabric of his yakatana in between her knuckles, "I want to know..I don't care what it is, I just want to know...please.."

That was when he jerked his hands toward her, gripping her shoulders in a firm grip, making her loose her grip in him. A loose tear escaped Sakura's already wet eyes, without her intention.

He raised his head gradually, his eyes showing despair. Emerald eyes met emerald eyes. The moon made them glisten, like real jewels.

"S-...Sakura-chan..." He managed to say, but it came out in a whisper, "Can you...tell me something?"

The question shocked her, but she answered anyway. "I'll tell you anything you want me to."

"But...would whatever you say...be true?"

This one, stunned her. She knew that she would never lie, to him anyway, but...what was with this?

"Y-...Yes, I promise. Whatever shall come out of my mouth...will be true."

And then, he hugged her. The warmth enveloped her, a blanket of pure sudden happiness. The top-half of her arms were pinned against her sides, not to be moved. She felt a cold wetness on her shoulder, soaking into her top.

Was he...?

She wrapped her arms around him, adding her warmth to him. That was when, the tears did escape, from those jewels of eyes. They stained his yakatana as she buried her face into his shoulder, not to be lifted for a while.

In that moment...a feeling was felt, the same feeling between both of them. Not felt in their head, but in their hearts.

What could it have been...?

-x-x-x-

Gomenasai! Forgive me for the lack of updates! And for the year that passed in between here...but what would a story be without a dramatic time skip? Well...maybe that's just me.

Regardless, I hoped you enjoyed it. I love all of you reviewers out there, and if you click that button that allows you to review, you may...just may find out that feeling.

Unless you can guess...but, oh, I think that would be hard. -sarcasm-


	8. Laugh

Nonchalance. That's my excuse.

I know, I know. A lot of you have been _begging_ for me to update this story, and finally, I am. I thank those who were patient, and hope that the ones who weren't, discover it was updated three weeks in time to now. Haha~.

But, please give a round of sake to Dragon's Host for convincing me deeply with a review that sent me into a swirling vortex of regret. Ah, well, no. Don't thank her for that, just thank her for reviving my spirit to get my darn butt on this annoying chair and type. xD

Think I sound sophisticated right now? Huh, I take pride in my work. Hahaha~. To be blunt though, I want to step my game up a bit, be a bit more myself, (if for some reason you can figure out my logic, than yes.)

Let me shut my trap now though so you can enjoy this chapter. (Excuse me if this chapter is corny; I have a knack for doing that.)

-x-x-x-

It was awkward.

Very awkward.

Sakura stared at the plain blankness of her bedroom wall. A blanket was wrapped securely around her body, covering every bit of her nervousness. Even her accented pink head was shrouded by the fluffy texture. It was hard for her to even guess her own expression. Well, she was facing opposite of the room away from the nearest mirror, so, it was somewhat annoying not to know such a simple fact.

She bit her lip in aggravation. It shouldn't be like this, she thought desperately. She knew that her feelings towards Kimimaro were nothing like the first time she met him. Not that that was necessarily a bad thing, but it was a great relief not to blush at even the slightest thought of him.

But now, they had returned. All those sparkling images of him in her head popped up, teased her; pleaded with her sometimes. She felt her face get hot, and in a unsuccessful attempt, she tried to shake away the redness from upon her rosy cheeks. Unfortunately, she hit her head on the wall while doing so.

"Ow..." Sakura muttered. There was a momentary expectance to hear Kimimaro ask her if she was okay, but it disappeared as quick as it came.

A few more minutes passed before she snapped and just wanted to settle it with Kimimaro. Quietly, she shuffled herself around on her bed to now face the room, and stared intently at the closet. Clearing her throat, she slowly began.

"U-Um...Kimi-kun?" Sakura expected some silence for a few long moments, so she occupied herself with thinking about the planned conversation in her head again.

"...Yes, Sakura-chan?" The voice from the closet startled her, but the courage wasn't lost.

"I need to talk to you. C-Could you please come out for a minute?"

"...Sure." The mechanism of the door made a click, as the familiar white-haired boy stepped out silently. The anxious cherry blossom stared at the tear in his yukata as he settled himself on the hardwood floor.

"Go on, Sakura-chan." He whispered monotonously.

"I-I...well..." Her plans almost failed for a second before they crept up suddenly, "I guess I should start with, um...the reason why you were standing still like that? Will you please tell me?"

Kimimaro flinched, but his expression did not change. He continued to stare at her, failing to make eye-contact though, as he tried to put it into an understandable explanation.

"It's...a long story Sakura-chan," he finally replied, "but I figure I can let you know. I can trust you now with not just my mind, but my heart now as well."

Sakura's heart thumped against her rib cage, begging to be let go. She managed to ignore it, but the ache didn't subside.

"I was having...a reminiscence. You know what I mean by that, right?" Sakura nodded quickly. "It was of a man who still bugs me in my brain, that once asked me to come with him. I used my better judgement, and refused. I don't want to scare you with his exact reply, but let's just put it that he said I'd regret it, in a horrible way."

It didn't make much sense to Sakura, but she could put enough puzzle pieces to figure it out mostly. The thing that she couldn't understand was that why would that man ask Kimimaro to come with him? She knew Kimimaro. He was a gentle, kind boy. He'd never use...whatever it was that she guessed he had, for evil. It would be immoral to question that.

It startled her once more when he spoke, interrupting her thoughts.

"I'm guessing that you are wondering why I would have such a memory, and that's what I'm going to let you know. Before I do...I want you to be down here Sakura-chan; with me." Sakura's face rejected the offer, but her body moved like a clock; not turning off unless it ran out of steam, or if someone turned it off.

She got close enough that their knees were touching, and they both enjoyed that, though unknown to the other.

"Sakura, watch closely. I don't want you missing even a millisecond." The note that he didn't add the surname "chan" to her name was forgotten, as she watched him lift up his left arm, palm-side up, and his other arm slowly revealing the pale skin underneath the yukata sleeve.

It didn't dawn on Sakura, until there seemed to be movement underneath his skin.

_'Something's...moving!'_ She thought in disbelief. And just seconds later, it was confirmed.

With cracking and crackling sounds, a bone slowly rose out of his skin, growing to about a foot, before finally stopping without a sound.

"I am Kimimaro of the Kaguya clan, the clan with this kekkei genkai." He said, not with confidence, but not with fear. Just plain nothing.

Sakura was dangling on the edge of curiosity, about to drop into the pit of fear. She hung on the edge with just one hand, losing strength bit by bit. The determined cherry blossom scrambled up onto the ledge like crazy, trying to hang on. Amazingly enough, she did, and sluggishly crawled over to the meadow of astonishment.

"W-What..." That was all Sakura could muster. With his free hand, the snow-haired boy grasped Sakura's hand, and wrapped its delicate fingers around its almost impenetrable surface.

"Yes...I know. I'm a monster. My bones are as hard as steel; it's almost physically impossible to break them. Back in Kirigakure, my clan was feared. Therefore, we were hated. Every member of it was killed, except for me. I survived somehow, ended up in that cell, and met you. I don't know for what reason I survived, or why I met you, or anything. I just know, I was cursed with this burden." He grabbed the part below Sakura's hand, and squeezed. From what Sakura could collect, he seemed to be trying to break it.

After maybe a good minute, he gave up, and let his hand flop down on his lap.

And then it hit Sakura.

She was touching Kimimaro's _bone_. Not his arm, not his face, his _bone_. Her stomach flipped, and she had to fight the urge to hold it until the stinging pain went away.

It felt...crisp. No, that wasn't the right word. It felt like...steel. He was right, these bones didn't feel fragile, didn't feel like they needed to be handled with care like her Father and Mother persisted so many times. For an instant, she wanted to try to bend it, just to test it, but then she realized that was a foolish idea, and gave up on it.

It was unknown to them how long they sat like that, just like the time they had "linked" with one another. To Sakura, it didn't matter. Neither did it for Kimimaro.

Sakura's heart raced when he spoke.

"Um, Sakura-chan? I think you can let go now..." He whispered with amusement, but his face didn't match his tone. Taking a quick glance at his expression, she held onto it for a few seconds more, and then let her own hand flop.

She watched, stunned, the bone slink back into the skin, like a snake; the hole it had made disappearing like it was never there. Her gaze did not leave that missing hole, until Kimimaro gave her shoulder a jostle. Her eyes peered up at his, and the jewels twinkled like stars.

"It's okay...you don't have to hide it. Tell me I'm a monster. I won't hurt me because I'm used to it. There's no need, Sakura-chan. Please, just tell me."

It was hard to tell if he was comforting her, or pleading with her, but either way, it made her heart ache. Not with pain, but with need.

"Sakura-chan," Kimimaro started again, "Please just—"

"I'll tell you what you are, Kimi-kun." Sakura whispered harshly. Her knuckles were turning white just from clenching them. Kimimaro stared at her in rejection, though her line of sight was towards the ground.

_'I thought I could trust you...' _He thought bitterly, _'You said...you're nothing but a..'_

"Kimimaro," Sakura sighed deeply, "I'm afraid I can't tell you what I'd _like_, what I _want_, what I _need_, to tell you, but...I can manage to make myself say these words. I mean this in all respect Kimimaro.. please don't think I'm lying..." Kimimaro waited in anxiety.

The heat was pulsing off in waves from Sakura; Kimimaro could feel it. Was she angry? Her brows were furrowed; that's what he could tell. But her flowing pink hair blocked all the rest from his view.

_'Just say it, Sakura..._' He thought in pain, _'Please...just say it..'_

"..Y-...You're....You're the most kindest, most gentlest, most heartwarming person I have ever met! There is nothing that can change my mind about that either!!" Sakura ran the sentence together so fast you could hardly tell what she said. Her face agreed with her heart this time, turning possibly the deepest shade of red anyone could muster up at all. She buried her head in her hands, gasping for breath.

Kimimaro was frozen; he wasn't even blinking. Had she just said what he thought she said? Or was his mind playing tricks on him? It often did...

His heart raced erractically, practically pounding on his rib cage. A warmth suddenly shrouded him, and Kimimaro finally understood a secret about life.

Without hesitation, the widest grin he could manage flashed upon his face, his cheeks flushed, and he laughed.

Kimimaro laughed for the first time in his life.

Sakura lifted her head in surprise, and stared at the joyful expression encasing Kimimaro in its clutches. The cherry blossom's brow furrowed again, but in confusion. Two questions were raised in her head...

One, was he laughing because what she said was funny to him? Or two, was he laughing because he was happy that someone said that to him?

The sound was...pure in Sakura's ears though. She had never heard him laugh, so it was unfamiliar too. Regardless, she liked the sound.

The redness hadn't fully disappeared, and she still was wondering which one of the two questions he was answering though.

Once he quited down, (which took quite a while), she quickly asked the question before he had the chance to start up again.

"Kimimaro, why are you laugh—" She didn't finish he sentence. Before she had time to register the little moment where Kimimaro moved, he was hugging her. No, it wasn't a hug; it was an embrace. In her world, that meant more than a hug, or so her Mother taught her.

"_Sakura-chan_," He said teasingly, "I'm happy! You've made me feel happy! That to me is the best thing _anyone_ could do! It's even _better_ when _you _were the one who did it! Thank you, Sakura-chan!! Thank you!!" Kimimaro let out his strong laugh again. Warmth flooded in Sakura as it had did in Kimimaro.

Sakura chuckled at first, from the fact that they basically just repeated what they had done not to long ago, so it was kind of stupid, in a funny way. Though, hearing Kimimaro laugh made her want to laugh herself, so she hugged him back and she did too.

Somewhere in the back of her mind though, she still wondered: what is this feeling I keep experiencing around him? It can't be _that_ one..but...

It still made her wonder...

She too, thanked Kami in between laughs that her parents were assigned a mission that day.

-x-x-x-


	9. Realization

Urgh. I apologize in the lack of updating, I really do.

My love for Naruto has faltered, and that is the best reason I can give. However, since the English Shippuden has arisen, no matter how terrible the English can be, it has inspired me once more.

That and a special reviewer that I care about has said kind words, and has helped me since my last update, offering more reason to continue this story.

He has asked to be unmentioned however. -pokes him- I will try to see the story through to the end, and I cannot promise, but I will try. Because I love all you readers, seriously.

Regardless, enjoy this late chapter!

-x-x-x-

It had been strange, the recent days that had gone past.

Sakura had witnessed Kimimaro express such different emotions in a short period of time...it was shocking. When was he known to have such emotions, or show them in such a matter? Well, regarding the fact that the girl has not known the boy as long as she would like. Did the boy ever do such a activity? Perhaps not, now that she thought about it more and more. Still, the idea bothered her...

Rising from her bed, yawning a bit louder than average, Sakura scratched her soft, pink hair (whom had now been cut short, because of a suggestion Kimimaro had merely mentioned), and walked sluggishly to her mirror. Once her eyes met contact with the reflection before her, she chuckled at herself. How awkward she looked! Good thing Kimimaro wasn't around to see...

Her friend...was that the only thing she thought about these days? Though, he was of significant importance in her life, of course, but really? A guy on her thoughts? Brushing her hair, the cherry blossom bit her lip in thought. Her parents, as a matter of fact were frankly saying that she was getting older and older by the second. Was it parents instincts, or reality?

Deeming it not worth thinking now, or rather saying she'd rather _not_think about it, the Haruno girl tied her hitai-ate about her head, to pull back her hair, revealing her broad forehead. Raising her eyebrows, she was still self-conscious about the body area. Kimimaro had never said anything about it, but did he realize it even? Bah! The thoughts about him again...made her blush..

Smiling a bit, she dressed herself in her regular outfit, printed out its crimson shade the Haruno family symbol, and the green sage shorts she wore, which her Mother commented were too tight, but everyone knows Mothers'. Afterwards, out of habit, Sakura went to her closet door and opened it, expecting to see someone. However, that was not the case, for, he no longer resided in there. The realization made her heart skip a beat out of immediate worry, but calmed after she heard him outside.

Peeking out the window, her emerald eyes spotted a winter-colored boy, practicing his taijutsu. As well, he used his special kekkei genkai, jutting a steel bone this way and that in practiced motions. Kimimaro had become a genin in the past year, and had temporarily joined Cell 7, mostly because of odd numbers. (That being odd numbers in teams.) The council had also mentioned at times that he was far above his level already, and should be examined more.

Happiness on her face, Sakura leaned out the window slightly, waving and called out. "Kimi-kun~! Good morning!" Upon hearing his name, the 13-year-old halted in his training, and gazed upwards. Giving the invisible smile, well to known to the pink-haired heroine, and waved back towards her. "Morning Sakura-chan!"

Giggling, Sakura returned to the contents of her bedroom, while closing the window pane. The quiet thud from the action, jogged her memory suddenly, and abruptly. She had a mission today! That's why Kimimaro was up so early!! The fact hitting her like a boulder, she stocked her small, midnight blue backpack with materials found amongst her room, sprinted downstairs with it, and scarfed down part of a meal her Mom had prepared, whom just smiled at the situation. Almost choking on the food, Sakura raced out the door and to Kimimaro.

"What's the matter, Sakura-chan?" Was the obvious question asked when she approached. Panting a bit, she spoke through an occupied mouth. "Wree haf a mishhun today Kim-kuhun!!" Arousing a laugh from the boy in front, the cute cherry swallowed her food properly. When had he gotten so comfortable when Sakura was overreacting about something? Normally he was so worried, but what was she to think?

"Yes, I know. Kakashi-sensei said to report at the usual spot around noon this afternoon," The pale male replied, "don't you remember?"

The girl scowled playfully, "Of _course_I remember! I'm not that forgetful..." She added, wiping at her mouth. Though, she wouldn't admit it, she somewhat was. Peering behind the boy, she eyed another backpack, his, resting against a tree. Blushing a bit, she pouted. "We should go now, Kimi-kun. Even though sensei can be irritatingly late, it wouldn't hurt to be early."

-x-x-x-

On arrival to the training grounds, Sakura and Kimimaro were greeted by energetic greetings from the numbe one-knuckled-headed ninja, Naruto. "_Hey!_Sakura-chan! Kimimaro! It's about time you guys got here! Slowpokes!!"

"Like you're one to talk, Naruto," A fellow teammate, Sasuke muttered, smirking the slightest. Receiving a glare from the blond, Sakura sweat-dropped. "When will you both just drop it...?" She wondered out loud to herself, knowing she was to never get an answer. The chakra within her tingled strangely; was it warning her of something?

It wasn't until three hours later until their teacher finally happened to appear, announcing one of his excuses once more. Naruto and Sakura didn't even let him finish his sentence, while Kimimaro and Sasuke simply scoffed. Raising a curious eyebrow, the only girl stared over at her friend. When was he getting so comfortable? This was his _first_ mission; according to statistics, everyone should be nervous, even if they were trained not to show so.

Maybe he was just different...

Sooner or later, they all proceeded to walk towards the exit of Konohagakure, with excitement from their faces, even if it wasn't all their first mission, just Kimimaro's. Kakashi had to calm down Naruto a few times by inducing a blow on the blond's head for being to rowdy. Kimimaro loitered around for quite a while, until Sakura slowened her pace to match his, letting her cell go ahead of her.

"Something wrong, Kimi-kun? Is the nervousness getting to you?" The blossom whispered, as so not the others to hear. The winter boy shook his head solemnly. "It's not that," he replied, "it's just that I'm worried about you; I always am."

The shy pink-haired girl let a noise escape her throat as deep red crept upon her face. Whipping her head in a different direction than Kimimaro's position, she looked at the ground. _'Why does he always say these kind of things?!' _She thought, a bit angrily. It was bad enough she got so easily embarrassed by just his mere presence, by what was so flattering about her that he _had_ to comment?

Sakura came to an abrupt stop, thinking deeply. Her friend beside only had continued on with two steps, before realizing she had stopped walking. Concern finally spread along his expression, "You've been acting awfully strange, Sakura-chan. What's the matter?"

"Nothing," she replied instantly as soon as he was done talking. What could she say to him? He obviously never felt these weird emotions, since he barely revealed them. Or...did he? Sakura shook her head, giving her painful whiplash, forcing her to grab a clump of hair as an instinct, eyes shutting tight. "Ow..."

Kimimaro smiled, "Whiplash, Sakura-chan?" She nodded slowly. "You have to be more careful, the last thing I want you to do is get hurt. I care about you, Sakura-chan; you _have_ to notice this fact." The pale male tugged on her arm gently, as a sign of playfulness, and a warning they need to catch up to their teammates. The whiplash already fading, the cherry smiled, and raced on ahead of him, forgetting her previous thoughts.

To their surprise, everyone had gone a lot farther than expected; was it unknown they had stopped? Their sensei should have noticed...something was wrong. The kekkei genkai inhabiter furrowed his brows in confusion. "Kakashi-sensei!" He began to call, his voice being unknown to the forest, "Naruto! Sasuke!"

Sakura noticed something was up too, and quickened her pace. Once up with her cell, Kimimaro came up no longer than two seconds after she was there. Still, her three teammates did not stop to gander at all.

"Naruto...?" The blossom asked, worry present in her shaking voice. Reaching out to touch him on the shoulder, Kimimaro reacted too late, not being able to stop her in time. "No!" Naruto reached up with his own right arm, forcefully grabbing her wrist, and hopping behind her to pin the lone arm against her back. In turn, she tried to elbow him in the gut with her other elbow, but failed as that was caught with his other hand, forcing that upon her back to. Both Sakura and her friend didn't notice right away that he had a kunai between his teeth.

Shock coming over him, Kimimaro rushed towards her, "Let go of her!!" He knew that it wasn't the original Naruto, but Sakura did not. She tried to turn her head, to look his way in dismay. Failing to do so, she just shook in panic. Never once yet, was she the pure victim. The white-haired boy tried to get closer to attack, but was jerked to a halt, other arms grabbing his arms to stop in his sprint. The impact on his inner arm stung, but he would not give up. He struggled immensely in their arms, which were now identified as Kakashi's and Sasuke's, adrenaline starting its course.

After a few long instances, the boy no longer continued his struggle, hanging his head in despair, shocking Sakura. When was he known to give up? Especially in a time like this!! He said he cared about her!!... Did he really? Or was it all a lie?

Gaining her attention away from such thoughts, there was a flash of dust beside her, getting in her eyes and mouth, making her cough. Kimimaro twitched, as two more flashes of dirt appeared beside him too. When they cleared, they revealed two unknown men holding back Kimimaro, as a horribly familiar man held the frightened blossom.

"Well, well, well, look what I have here." His grip tightened on her thin arms, making her wince the slightest. He chuckled in response, "I see this is your friend, mutant. Perhaps you should have hidden him more well? But that just proves you have no sense of feelings."

Sakura opened her mouth to defend him, but shut it after quickly thinking that that was not such a good idea to do right now. Her friend twitched again; something was moving in his shoulders, she could see it through his robe. "Stop this, Yasuo. You have _no _reason to harm her! If you want to do it, harm me instead!!"

Yasuo scoffed. "Like I'm gonna listen to trash like you!" The man spat against the ground in true disgust. "Now, you either come with me, or I slice your girlfriend's neck open with this here kunai." His stained yellow and and white teeth grinded against the metal of the kunai, placing it gently on her neck, making her wince much more.

There went the idea of smashing the ball of her foot against his own. If the girl made one false move, her fragile neck would be sliced open. Her mind raced; there must be a way to get free, and to do it quickly would be preferred. A lone sweatdrop went down her broad forehead.

A loud, piercing crackling noise startled the group, the tension briefly set aside. Yasuo eyed Kimimaro, as it appeared to be coming from him. Following her captor's eyesight, Sakura stared at the pale boy as well, along with the two repressing him. In the blink of an eyes, razor-sharp bones jagged themselves outside of the Kaguya's body, stabbing the skin of his enemies beside him instantaneously. Sickening sounds aroused, blood dropped from both of their mouths.

Sakura gasped, her pupils shrinking from the sight. Yasuo flinched back upon seeing his comrades head hang, as Kimimaro shook them off of him, death present in his eyes.

"Karamatsu no Mai," The male announced, white hair flowing in the slight wind, "Dance of the Larch." Intimidating bones protuding from his body, he started towards Sakura and the man he loathed. "Are you going to let go of her now?"

The oldest male made a small noise in the back of his throat, gulping. Clenching his teeth, he growled and glared. "You bastard; I'll be back. I'll be back to kill you and your girlfriend!!" With that threat, Yasuo disappeared in a misty cloud of smoke. Someone no longer forcing him limbs to be still, with a yelp, Sakura dropped to her knees, her breathing hoarse and afraid.

His bones slinking back into his skin at a fast rate, the boy ran to her, on his knees as he got close enough. Placing a concerned hand on the girl's shoulder, eyebrows turned upwards, he asked, "Sakura-chan, are you alright?"

Having not the strength to reply, Sakura's breaths filled the air with sound, as minutes passed. When appropriate, her vivid green eyes met his, filled with fear.

"You...you.."

Closing his tired eyes, Kimimaro continued on for his poor, frightened friend. "It was the only way I could save you, Sakura-chan. I'm sorry you had to witness that, I really am." The white hair he grew covered his face, yet he didn't bother to push it away. "I know I'm a monster, but I will only kill if needed be. I promise to you, I'll never to it for any other reason."

The blossom stayed silent, unable to find words to reply. Eventually, with the help of Kimimaro, she managed to stumble into a standing position. Legs still shaking from the previous situation, she had to lean upon his strong arm, which he offered to her. Leaving the bloody corpses on the stained grass, the pair walked back towards the village at their own pace, not mentioning a word.

When they returned, the two ended up running into their cell training, confused faces on their faces. The white-haired boy explained to them, as their sensei went to report it to the elite Anbu squad, and the Hokage in case something else occurred.

Apparently, they actually did have a mission, but the news of its canceling mysteriously did not reach them.

Leaning into the boy, Sakura did not blush. Tears welled up, yet did not fall.

He protected her. Her, out of all people. He told her she was important; for once she had felt like a person. Someone that was needed. Awfully serious, his demeanor was.

Hiding her pale green eyes from the world, she sighed into his sleeve, a light purple mixture with blue.

She finally understood that day.

How could one _not_ love someone like him?

-x-x-x-

Oh boy. The feelings are confessed! Are they only one-sided, however? Thank you for reading, and please review; it supports me and motivates me to write more. I didn't check this for mistakes, so, gomen.

Any future changes to the summary of this story, and content of the chapters is entirely intentional, and will not change the plot in the slightest, but mainly just the vocabulary and set-up. So, don't think someone hacked me. xD


End file.
